My Baby Grew Up

My baby girl isn't a baby anymore!!! Saturday was her big debut - into the big girl world.

Her first dance recital wowed us. She was glowing and beautiful, and danced like there was nothing to lose. A beautiful day for a beautiful girl.

Kenna, Hannah and Adelyn are ready to take the stage

After the recital, Emerson and Kenna were ready to head home!

Kenna and Hannah joyfully greet one another before the recital

Baby or big girl - we sure do love her!!! Watch out world - here she comes!

God's Mighty Warrior

There is truly nothing more exciting, than to watch our kids desire to know God in deeper ways. They have a desire to understand the Bible, and what it means for them. In their desire, we go there. We read and discuss. His word is just as real in their lives as it is in ours! How cool is that?!

And then....when they bring it full circle - into their play - it makes me smile! Childlike faith. It is pure and special - it could melt my heart.

A couple days ago, Tyler was in quest of the understanding of the Armor of God. Okey doke - to Ephesians 6:13-17 we did go.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. -Ephesians 6:13-17

Then - he got an idea....
Why not WEAR the armor?! From the helmet, all the way to the sandals.

And here is where he rescued God's little princess. It doesn't get much better than this!

Beautiful Spunky Ballerina

Sparkles and glitter. Tutus and bows. It is approaching Dance Recital time!

These 3/4 year old ballerina girls have been practicing for their moments in the limelight for months and months. Their time is finally arriving.

Though, the recital is yet to come, they already had the chance to shine like stars in a performance at the Mitchell Pancake Feed.

They shined!

She Looks Beautiful and Ready to Perform

Get Their Boogy On

This is Where Her Spunk Really Came Out - She the Tongue Sticking Out? That's Our Girl - A Beautiful Spunky Ballerina!

So Much More Than Hockey

Have you ever seen termites? Tiny, but mighty! I had never actually seen any - until a couple weekends ago. Brookings, SD held the 2010 Termite Fest! You may be asking yourself, "why would ANYONE ever hold a 'Fest' for termites?"

Alright - these weren't termite bugs, they were a herd of mini-mite hockey players. Though they were "mini", they certainly were mighty! 3 different towns (Luverne, MN, Brookings, SD, and Mitchell, SD), each brought several mini-mite teams to participate in an action-packed "Termite Fest" hockey tournament.

For my friend Heidi, and I - the tournment looked like this:

2 nights + 1 room + 2 moms + 3 hockey boys = ??? (you tell me what you think)....

2 nights + 1 room + 2 moms + 3 hockey boys = so much more than hockey!

Friendship, fun, team, sharing, laughing, winning, losing, disappoints, learning, goals, playing hard, basketball, and oh so much more! Another amazing memory for the memory books - for the boys AND the 2 moms.

Game Day

His adreneline was high, and his excitement was contagious! It was a day for the record books....

Tyler's First Hockey Games - 2 of them in 1 day. He processed and imagined these games for days prior. The day started with a "high energy breakfast" by request of the athlete.

Game day "high energy" breakfast consisted of oatmeal, "Power Cereal", bacon, and smoothie. At the point that it was time to EAT the breakfast, he was too nervous....and ate NONE OF IT!

Tyler and his opponent race for the puck.


Tyler (#7) and Chase (#12) are ready!

We call these three "The Three Amigos" - Tyler and his buddies Landon and Chase

Tyler (yellow mouth guard) and Chase (blue mouth guard) seem to be coming up with their own game plan on the ice.

Waiting for ice time

Kenna and Rylie had fun hanging out in the stands - while cheering on their brothers!

Tyler Dives to Protect the Mini-Mite Goal. Goalie was his favorite position to play. He did a great job making saves!

There was a lot of action on the ice. Tyler's movin' in to take that puck!

Don't ask about the score - it wasn't pretty. The Mini-Mites have A LOT to learn, but their parents could not have had more fun watching them play!!!! They worked hard, and had intense amounts of fun. And at age 5 - that's all we ask for!

Maybe they would have been better off - drivng the Zamboni!

BEAUTIFUL

This is - BEAUTIFUL....

A homemade pillowcase given to me today, by a BEAUTIFUL friend. She made it perfectly beautiful, just for me. She knows my heart, she knows my style, and she knows my "color".

The pillowcase was given as a reminder to me that she is praying for me - continuously. As I lay down at night, and there is chaos in my head, I can find peace in remembering she is praying - for me. She is praying for the children and familes I interact with. She is praying for the children, around the world, that she knows my heart is drawn to.

She is part of the body of Christ - just like these children. She is serving Him, daily.

AND THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

Not So Scary Halloween

Halloween is supposed to be the scary, spooky celebration of the year. Our family just doesn't do scary, spooky. But...we DO DO FUN! And, fun it was!

The weather was beautiful. The costumes were adorable. The candy was good. And the cousins were here! It was a perfectly FUN Halloween Day!

The animals of the household spent some animal bonding time. Maybe it is because one of the animals is feeding the other some candy???

Here is the crew: a hip-hop policeman, a scary little lion, a Hawkeye football player, and of course a princess.

This is a classic picture what life ACTUALLY looks like!

The big cousins did pumpkins together.

Maybe I was wrong....there was a LITTLE bit of scary amongst us - YIKES!